Laundering apparatus



Dec 3, 1929.

L. 5. SMITH LAUNDERING APPARATUS Filed Feb- 23, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 3, 1929. L, 5, MITH 1,738,326

LAUNDERING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 23, 1924 -2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Dec. 3, 1929 UNITED STATES LEONARD s. smrrn, or omomna'rr, onmnssrenon or ours-ma '10 LEONARD s. r

PATENT OFFICE -SMITH, JR., OF CINCINNATI, OHIO; LEONARD 5. SMITH, J18", EXECUTOB OF LEONARD B. SMITH, DECEASED LAUNDERIN G APPARATUS Application flied February 23, 1924. Serial No. 694,613.

This invention relates to apparatus for launderingivuearing apparel, fa rics or'articles of any kind.

The object of the invention is to provideimproved apparatus of the kind stated which increases production for a given overhead charge, which largely reduces injury to the materials being laundered; and which also reduces the labor and simplifies the apparatus In and manner of handling the materials during the several laundering operations and in transportation from machine to machine.

The ordinary commercial laundering of materials of this kind consists in washing the materials in a suitable machine, transferring them to a conveying truck or carrier, transferrin 'the materials from the truck to a centri ugal extractor in which the moisture is eliminated by centrifugal action, returning the materials from the extractorbasket to the same or a similar truck or carrier, conveying-themto a shake-out table, or tumbler where they are shaken out, and then sorting them into lots for subsequent different treatments.

This rior method of laundering is objectionable for two reasons, first, because the inherent objections to a centrifugal extractor for eliminating moisture, and second, because of the labor involved in transferring materials to and from the truck. The centrifugal extractor is objectionable because of the high cost of initial installation, its deli cacy of operation reqfiiring adjustment and readjustment of materials in the basket to balance the same for proper spinnin action,

I the danger of injury to materials w ich are till inadvertently placed across the center and subjected to forces in opposite directions and thereby torn or mutilated, the natural tendency of materials under centrifugal force'to enter the openings in the basket wall and the tight compacting of the materials, both of which result in injury thereto, either by pull rom ing the pieces apart in removing them the basket or in pulling the materials out (if the basket apertures, and other inherent disadvanta es natural to hi h s eeol machines of this character, such as danger to the operator, etc. The centrifugal extractor also necessarily increases the number of o era- I My invention aims to provide apparatus which has for its primary object the elmination of the centrifugal extractor, thereby not only eliminating its inherent disadvantages before stated, but also necessarily reducing the operations of handling the materials, especially in transfer thereof to and from the trucks, and in the water removing operation. This result is obtained in my invention es sentially by the substitution for the centrifugal extractor of an expressing machine or press of suitable form in which the moisture is removed from the materials by a pressin or squeezing operation instead of by a centri ury to. the materials, ity of confusing the ugal or rotary action. More particularly the invention providesa special form of express- ,ing machine of which the truck or carrier forms a part, thereby eliminating the necessity of transfer of materials from the truck to the expressing machine and vice versa and consequently reducing the labor and avoidin the possibility of confusion of articles 0. difl'erent batches during the water removing operation.

Further objects of the invention will be more apparent from the description hereinaften';

The invention, comprises the apparatus hereinafterdescribed and claimed.

In the drawings, Fig. 1 shows a front elevation of the washing andw'ater removing machine; Fig. 2 is a plan View of the Water removing machine; Fig. 3 is a sectional plan vievvthereof on the line '38, Fig. '1; Fig. 4;

is a detailsectional plan view on the line 4-4,

' Fig. 1; Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation of the water removingmachine 911 the line 55,

2; and. Fig. 6 is a cletaihsectional elevation on the line 6-6,Fig. 5.

At the conclusion of a washing operation a r the load or the batch ofmaterials is withdrawn directly into a truck F. This truck 1s shown asmcludlng a bottom 3 of suitable material, such as metal or a hard, strong Wood of suflicient strength to stand the necessary pressure without distortion as will later appear; It is preferably also suitably perforated, such as by the provision of a plurality of elongated slots or openings 4 and ismounted upon wheels 5. One or more ofthe side walls of the truck, indicated at 6., are mov- 1 ably or separably connected thereto for con- 'venience in removing the materials. For example, and as shown, all four of the walls of the present truck are hinged to the base, as at 7 so that any one or more of them can be released from the others and swung down laterally into horizontal position, but when all the walls are in vertical position they are held rigidly together in any suitable manner, such as by detachablelatc es Sen'gaging pins 9. When in this positlo'n' the fourwalls and bottom form a rigid container-of box-like form capable of receiving a batch of materials in prpfiortion to its size and of sufiicient strength an rigidity to enable said-materials, while in the box, to be subjected to a physical squeezing actionor'pressure for removing surplus liquid therefrom. While not illustrated the walls ofcourse, may be reinforced in any suit-ah e manner and pressed one against the other by binding straps or bands if necessa lh ilte thetruck bottom, its side walls are also conveniently perforated for discharge of the liquid, such as by forming therein a series of preferablyvertieallyelongated slots 10.

" cemed, may lie-of any suitable design similar to" an ordinary'bal'in or other press, and is therefore represents somewhat conventionally-in the drawings. It includes a suitable lframe 11, and a strong substantial base or building lower platen l2, which maybe apart of the shown is a' solid metal or other part resting thereupon and provided with perforations 13 leading-to one or more lateral channels 14 for conveying away the liquid, as will appear. In'the frame'is mounted a'verti'cally, movable upper platen or head 15, which-isof 'the same shape andareain Ianv view as the opening in the box or truck F. This head is shown as mounted on the lower end of a' verticall movable screw" ltl mounted to slide vertically withoutrotation-inguides 17 towhich it is connected by the spline 18 and capable of being moved vertically by a nut 19 forming apart or a bevel gear meshing with a bevel gear 20 on arshaftf operated inany suitable manner, such as by' power m a structure or' foundation, but as (not shown) or the hand wheel 22. The work engaging portion of the head 15 may be rigid, but preferably is of yieldable character so as to be self accommodating to any inequalities in a ile or mass to which pressure'is being applied. As shown this platen is provided with suitable cushioning means, such as a flexible diaphragm 22 having its edges sealed to the edges of the head and fgrming with its face a chamber 23 to which fluid pressure, such as air pressure or the pressure of aliquid, maybe supplied through passages 24 from a pipe 25 leading to a source of pressure.

As shown the bed 12 projects above the floor along. which the wheels of the truck travel but is less in height than the under-clearance of the truck bed and is alsonarrower than the distance between its wb eels, so that the truck can be rolled into position over thepress bed and beneath the head 15, as shown in Fig; 5 ,35

To relieve the truck bottom from pressure and permit it to seat solidly upon the press bed the press bed is preferably provided with means for yieldably supporting the truck.

such as shallow angle track members 26 of proper gauge for the wheels and upon which the wheels are rolled. said track members being supported yieldably by springs 27 in the cor.

A truck load of wet materials from the washer having been wheeled into position as shown in the press, the head or platen is moved downwardly operation of the press mechanism, entering the box body of the truck, the upper edges of the walls of which 1 to its compressibility in various portions, due

to the manner of loading or the texture of materials. As this stage is reached the cushioned face of the head comes into play, yielding where the mass has the most density and accommodating itself to inequalities. in the density of'the mass, whereby the moisture is eliminated uniformly throughout the mass.

The pressure produced may be of any desired degree to-remove moisture to any extent desired. This operation can be carried out rapidly as compared with the water. removing, operation of a centrifugal extractor, which takes from 5 to 20 minutes according to the results desired, whereas the expressing operation can-be performed in a matter of seconds and without any accompanying serious dangen. Also the entire force of the plunger is in the vertical direction without any tendency to move the materials laterally into apertures in the side walls of the press box or container and if materials enter the openings in its bottom they are removed in the same direction in which they enter, without liability of being injured. Also, the entire expressing operation is without liability of danger to the operator as compared with a centrifugal extractor.

.When the expressing operation is completed-the head is withdrawn and the truck with its contents is rolled away from the press, which is immediately ready for the next operation on the materials in the same or another similar truck.

The truck loaded with its compressed and relatively 'dry materials may now be, conveyed to any suitable place for subjection of the articles to further treatment. Usually the materials are conveyed from the water removing apparatus to the shake-out table, or a tumbler, where the materials are shaken out for subjection to subsequent treatments.

'When removed from an extractor'removal is necessarily a piece by piece operation, involving direct injury to the articles as before stated. By the present method the truck and contents may be directly. conveyed to the shake-out table and the mass of compressed materials may be deliveredthereto by merely dropping one side of the truck and sliding the mass asa body upon the shake-out table, the truck being suitably elevated, as by a trestle, or other means for this purpose. At times thematerials may be shaken out in a simple rotary tumbler, without a drying effect, in which case the truck coming from the water removing machine is dumped directly into the tumbler.

In some cases batches of goods may be classified so that after the water removing operation, the batch may be directly conveyed to a machine for performing one definite subsequent operation, such for example as a dry tumbling operation. Here, also, the truck with its contents may be rolled directly to the drying tumbler and by using a trestle or other means, not shown, the goods may be directly dumped as a mass from the truck into the drying tumbler, the rotation of the drum of which will break up the mass and open out all of the individual articles without necessity of manual separation.

What I claim is:

1". Apparatus for expelling liquid from fabrics and the like, comprising a container for a batch of material, a pressing head movable in said container for preliminarily pressing the liquid from the batch, an' expansible device within said container and in contact with the material therein, and

signature.

LEONARD S. SMITH.

means for expanding said device.

2. Apparatus as in claim 1, wherein the expansible member is between the head and the material. I

i ,3. Apparatus asin claim 1, wherein the 

